Chapter 6 — Everyday life experiences (male witnesses)

Work

The trade workshops were a feature of the School system in the period prior to the 1970s. There were 206 specific accounts of time spent in one or more different trade areas, referred to as ‘shops’. The most commonly reported trades were tailoring and shoemaking. The work in these settings was believed to be predominantly related to meeting the institutions’ needs for clothing, boots and leather straps. In the shoe shop you started off as a polisher, you polished the boots for everyone. Then you became a repairer, there was top, a piece of a tyre cut to save it ...(the boot)... when you were playing football. There was ...number... lads doing them. Then there was the “generals” who made the shoes and then there was the head shoe boy. • Everyone worked from day one. I was assigned to tailoring at 13 ...(years of age)... instead of school. I was not able to read and write. The tailoring was initially confined to making and mending boys’ clothing.

Associated trade activities were darning, mending, knitting and weaving, although accounts of these tasks were less often heard. While 27 witnesses reported developing skills in a trade that subsequently led to gainful employment most reported that the skills they learned were redundant when they were discharged as the weaving, tailoring and shoemaking trades had been largely mechanised. Other witnesses reported being so badly affected by the abuse they experienced in the context of work in the trade shops that they avoided similar work when they were discharged.

The kitchens were another area where residents worked, both within the School and in the adjacent religious congregation houses. There were 78 separate reports of working in the kitchens. This work was more generally favoured as it provided access to extra food and warmth. The work described included washing and peeling potatoes, carrying heavy pots, scrubbing pots, pans and floors. Kitchen work was described as undertaken by one or two residents at a time and as more isolated than other work areas. The less attractive component of kitchen work for male witnesses was that the kitchens were frequently the domain of a single Brother, several of whom were reported as particularly harsh and abusive.

Witnesses generally reported that they had little choice about the type of work they were appointed to do: Eventually I got a job in the shoe repair shop where I was not welcomed as I was left handed, I hated working there. • I was told after 2 months “it is time to start earning your keep”. I was put to work in the Brothers’ kitchen where I remained during my stay in School. This meant I missed Mass as I had to prepare for breakfast for the Brothers and missed school as I was needed in their kitchen.

There were 21 witness reports relating to discharges prior to 1970 of being directly involved in commercial enterprises for the School, e.g. making Rosary beads for sale, chopping and selling firewood, tailoring, making furniture and working for local farmers and businesses.

Changes were reported to have been introduced in the 1970s and 1980s that facilitated more choice, including paid work outside the institution, e.g. the local creamery, factory or hotel during the summer holidays and less work on farms attached to the Schools.

There were few accounts of domestic staff being employed in the institutions; witnesses reported that the residents generally did all the housekeeping work, with the exception of the laundry. Local women were reported to be employed by some institutions, mainly in this area, but had little contact with the residents. Witnesses discharged in the late 1970s and 1980s reported the main type of work undertaken to be routine household chores that some Schools used as an opportunity for residents to earn points that could be exchanged for privileges such as home leave and outings.

Food

Food was generally served in large refectories designated for residents with members of religious and lay staff taking their meals in a separate area. Most witnesses commented on the provision of food, which was generally regarded as inadequate. The standard breakfast diet described was salted porridge with or without bread and tea or cocoa. The main meal was consistently described as boiled potatoes with vegetables and some meat. The evening meal was often bread and dripping, or jam and tea or cocoa. I worked for a time in the kitchen and used to see ...(what was provided)... vegetables came from packets, once a week mince, fish once a week. All meat was boiled and streaky. We were constantly hungry and we robbed each others food, you just grabbed. Youngsters who were weak suffered.

Witnesses reported that there was little or no access to extra food except what might have been obtained opportunistically by residents working in kitchens or the farmyards. Witnesses reported that cake and biscuits, jelly, ice cream and lemonade were at times provided on special occasions. Fruit was reported as an exceptional treat, most often at Christmas when witnesses reported receiving an orange. Many witnesses reported that the only eggs provided were boiled eggs on Easter Sunday.

In more recent years witnesses commented that sausages, chips, eggs, cheese, fish fingers, cornflakes and milk puddings became part of the regular diet. Varying accounts were given of both the quantity and quality of the food provided with improvements noted in both areas in the reports relating to the 1970s and later.

Play and recreation

The principal recreational pursuits reported by 226 witnesses in the decades prior to the 1970s were Gaelic sports, particularly hurling and football. A small number of Schools were reported to have been actively involved in competitions and games often involved travelling to outside venues. This was an attraction in itself as the games provided an opportunity to interact with ‘outsiders’, and on occasion provided access to better food. The external competitions were believed by witnesses to provide some protection and relief from physical abuse.

Apart from participation in organised Gaelic team sports the most frequent reports regarding recreation were of witnesses playing in the yard and making their own entertainment. In addition, handball and boxing were reported as recreational activities by 131 witnesses and a small number competed nationally. Many witnesses discharged before the mid-1960s reported that performing drill movements and gymnastics for long periods was a common activity and was feared by those who were not well co-ordinated, due to the harsh nature of some ‘drill masters’.

Indoor recreation facilities and activities were less frequently reported but included table tennis, card and board games, reading and listening to the radio in recreation halls. Witnesses described the limited availability of recreational equipment and resources. One hundred and eleven (111) witnesses reported they enjoyed attending films both within the Schools and in later years at local cinemas. Sixty-four (64) witnesses reported that long regimented walks on Sundays in silence ‘in line like a crocodile’ were less than enjoyable. Routes described by witnesses were up to 10 miles long.

Six (6) senior Schools were reported to have had bands and the Committee heard 40 witness accounts of playing in the band as a recreational activity. As with some competitive sports being a band member provided opportunities to travel around the country, including trips to race meetings, regattas and other local sporting events and, in some instances, overseas. Band membership and associated activities were regarded as a privilege and provided welcome respite from the institution. As with other activities that had a public component, band performances also provided opportunities for extra food. It was reported that these privileges were counter-balanced by exceptional demands on their performance, appearance and general behaviour.

In a small number of Schools summer holidays and trips to the seaside were a popular break from the everyday routine of life. Thirty three (33) witnesses from Schools situated near the sea, lakes or rivers described being taken swimming and also for holidays at the seaside. Recreation all depended on the Brother, if he had an interest. There was one Brother who loved swimming. He brought us all the time, you could go down and dive in.